Evan Leebens of Missouri River Energy Services gave an overview of proposed water and electric rate adjustments for Marshall Municipal Utilities during a hearing Wednesday afternoon.

MARSHALL — A public hearing on proposed electric and water rate increases for the city of Marshall didn’t draw many people on Wednesday afternoon. After taking some questions from one Marshall resident at the hearing, members of the Marshall Municipal Utilities Commission went on to approve new electric and water rates.

MMU will be seeing a total rate increase of about 10.5% for electricity next year. Meanwhile, water rates will be increasing about 5% each year for 2026 through 2028.

At Wednesday’s hearing, presenter Evan Leebens of Missouri River Energy Services, MMU’s energy provider, gave an overview of proposed water and electric rate adjustments.

“On the electric side, there’s really kind of two parts to the proposed rate increases,” Leebens said. Of the total 10.5% rate increase, “About 7.5% is related to power costs not controlled at the local level,” he said. That 7.5% increase reflected costs from power suppliers, as well as transmission costs to bring electricity to the city.

The remaining 3% of the total rate increase came from local costs not related to power supply, including inflation and cost of living increases, Leebens said. MMU General Manager Pete Wyffels said over the past five years, electric utilities have also seen cost increases for materials, vehicles and insurance premiums.

The rate increases would take place in January 2026.

Leebens said it was important to remember that electric rate increases would not be 10.5% for all MMU customers across the board.

“One thing with cost of service studies that we do is, we take a look and make sure each of your customer classes are paying their fair share,” he said. The percent increases for individual electric customers could vary by the type of customer, as well as by seasonal rates.

For residential electrical service, MMU’s monthly base charge would increase to $23 in 2026. The additional charges for each kilowatt hour of energy used would differ depending on season. New residential service rates would be about 8.8 cents per kilowatt hour for January through March, 9.8 cents per kilowatt hour in July through September, and 7.6 cents per kilowatt hour from April through June, and from October through December.

“On the water side of things, we’re looking at 5% increases for the next three years. So that’s 5% in January 2026, 2027 and 2028,” Leebens said. “The last rate increase was in January of 2023.”

Leebens said the exact water increases customers would see also varied by the type of customer, their water usage, and the season.

The proposed rate increases were partly due to capital costs, Leebens said. “The other bit of a unique thing in the water side . . . just in the industry across the board, water sales are flat or even declining oftentimes,” he said.

Leebens said Marshall water rates included a base charge based on the size of the water meter, as well as additional charges for water use, which change depending on the season. For a residential customer with a 3/4-inch meter, the monthly base charge would go up to $24.60 in 2026, $25.60 in 2027, and $26.60 in 2028.

MMU’s net income and reserves looked “very strong” going forward for the next three years, Leebens said. “Bills should remain very competitive with other cities,” he said.

Marshall resident Russ Labat was the only member of the public who had questions and comments at the hearing. Labat said he thought having smaller rate increases spread out over time would be easier for residents to deal with.

“I’m a firm believer in small increases every year, because we all know we’re in tough economic times,” Labat said. In the proposed electric rate increases, he said, “You’re adding 7.5% that you don’t have control of, but then you’re putting an additional 3% that you do have control of. Would it be possible to postpone that 3% and spread it out a little bit more?”

After the hearing, MMU commissioners voted to approve two separate resolutions setting electric rates and water rates.